Jacke

It's not commonly known, but that one came about because after a long weekend of gaming, Nemesis woke up on Monday and decided he was going to find out for sure how good are Trolls in WH40K. The outline of the...Nemesis plot! Create a drug that will turn people into Trolls. Sell that drug. Take the net profits and finally get that proper Blood Angel army he's been wanting. As Trolls are created, gather them together. When there are enough Trolls, introduce them to various vehicles. Including at least one copy of every version painted red. Wait. 1st question answered: Do red ones really go fasta? Carry on answer remaining questions.

Thus the need for No-Fade-No-Pulse costume options. 😺

A degree of knowledge about the distribution chains of Superadine over the years were discovered. But not the original creator. https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Superadine There's an assumption (?) that the original source of Superadine was Super-Soldier Serum research in WW2. I think there are at least 2 drugs in Praetoria that are versions of Superadine.

Ah, not necessarily! @Snarky could be running a different con. And of course, it could all be...A NEMESIS PLOT!!! Without those Villains running their villainous plans even knowing. When (and if, does take days off...or is that another plot?) Nemesis plots, there are plots within plots. What others think are their cover stories are actually part of Nemesis's plots. What others think are their nefarious plots are actually part of Nemesis's cover stories. Or maybe the other way 'round.... (Nemesis does like to keep things fresh, to better leap out of bed in the morning to plot anew! A good plotter knows good plots start with a good night's sleep. And a good breakfast. Plotting can be demanding. Still have to change to the Night Shift from time to time.) Nemesis has a very large supply of newspapers, scissors, tape and glue, blackboards, chalk, whiteboards, markers, tacks, string, throat lozenges (for when maniacal cackling goes a bit too long), and minions to send running hither and yonder. And contracts, under assumed names and fake front businesses, of course, at several stationary stores.

Guess we'll find out.... Herm.... This is going to be tricky to get into a few words, especially without diagrams. Quick replies: Yes. For that Powerset, all the Old Powers on a Toon are transformed to a New Power. No. If the Powerset change changed the order of Powers, the Toon gets to keep Powers that are too early in Level. Until the Toon goes through a Respec. Yes. For that Powerset, all the Old Powers on a Toon are transformed to a New Power. No. The old slotting and the old enhancements remain. But may not completely work, see below. Maybe the Toon won't need a Respec. Maybe the Toon will need a Respec. Depends on the Toon and the changes. I can't remember if free Respecs are still being given out what with all the sources of Respecs and Respec Recipes now. What happens for a Powerset change is: The Old Version of the Powerset is 9 Powers in a sequence. That sequences controls at what Levels those Powers are first available to add to a Toon. The New Version of the Powerset is 9 Powers in a sequence of the same sort. For the Powers of that Powerset on a particular Toon: Old Power X is replaced by New Power Y. For some 1-to-1 mapping of X from {1 to 9} to Y from {1 to 9} Not necessarily Old Power X is replaced by New Power X (ie 1 becomes 1, 2 becomes 2, etc.). An example: New Regen changing its Powers sequence (and renaming to complicate things). What happens when Old Power X is now New Power Y, but Y is normally available only at a higher Level? The modified Toon gets to keep New Power Y at a lower Level than normally possible. Until a Respec is done, then it's got to be taken normally. What happens when Old Power X was slotted with enhancements that New Power Y can't take? The modified Toon gets to keep those enhancements in New Power Y's slots. If some entire enhancement aspects (Accuracy, Damage, EndRed, RechRed, etc.) were removed: Those removed enhancement aspects if still present will do nothing. I still have a Defender with Dark Mastery who had Soul Drain, now has Spirit Drain, and hasn't been Respeced. Still has the PvP PBAoE enhancements from Soul Drain. And as whole enhancement aspects weren't removed, they still enhance. And give set bonuses not normally available on Spirit Drain, I think. I have to Respec that Toon soon, at which time, I'll have to get proper replacement enhancements. Even for the "simplest changes" to a Powerset, the Player, after thought and reflection, may still want to change the Toon's build in some way. Thus needing a Respec.

Tankers: "We've been unfairly nerfed! And Brutes have been unfairly buffed!" Brutes: "We've been unfairly nerfed! And Tankers have been unfairly buffed!" Now, that's perfectly balanced. 😺

Sometimes even Tankers want to set up a big surprise. 😺

New version of the BadgeReporter popmenu now released! Download it here! Changelog in the 2nd post of this thread. Installation and usage covered in the 3rd post of this thread. Note: - Only change from version 20250527a is the renaming of "Mark & Recall" Accolade to "Mark and Recall". BadgeReporter.20250528a.mnu

Didn't love Tanky enough to give Tanky stealth in Energy Aura. 😾

We could always get it mixed up with Dance Dance Revolution. 😺

Cones, whether melee or ranged. are similar to PBAoEs with less than 360° arc. They all have a radius rather than a range. Look at the article I posted above.

Increasing the arc of a PBAoE also increases the area factor. Details in this post:

New version of the BadgeReporter popmenu now released! Download it here! Changelog in the 2nd post of this thread. Installation and usage covered in the 3rd post of this thread. BadgeReporter.20250527a.mnu

The only uses I've read for Large Language Models that are anywhere truly useful (outside of continued research which is behind the scenes and likely under too much pressure to change them to "improve") is when the data they are trained on is very restricted to narrow them to a tight group of related use-cases. An example was a game studio who trained a LLM on the lore and other details of a complex game and could query it to answer their questions. This focused use is not what most users of LLMs are doing. Won't bother going in the reality of LLMs, because that is complex and my knowledge is limited. And the reality seems to have no bearing on the reception and adoption of LLMs as a magical panacea. A long time ago I learned about the adoption of new technologies, with details like early adopters, middle adopters, and late adopters. But now certain new technologies become the Next Big Thing that corporations rush to incorporate for fear of missing out. And Devil take the hindmost. And LLMs--Generative AI--is now the Next Big Thing. Nothing exceeds like excess. Some people are talking about LLMs verging onto AGI: Artifical General Intelligence. (I'm skeptical.) No matter, all ahead flank with what they've got now. Massive new server farms are being build with great impact on land, power grids, pollution, etc. (We each get by on about 100-200W of power. LLMs a tad bit more.) For those in charge of Corporations, the Line Must Go Up. No matter what. So it's onto the rest of your paragraph. Words escape me. Except for ones that are far too angry for these forums. And of course, there are those who want to use AI to go into an even more twisted future.

You're quite right. Players can decide to combine Martial Combat with whichever Blaster Primary they want. I run an Assault Rifle/Devices main. For many years, the only direct buff Devices gave AR was a lot of +ToHit and a weird special case boosting the AR Sniper Rifle Power (and only that Snipe Power, a weird case that was eventually removed). It was a combo thought to be underperforming for Blasters. I love AR/Devices. I loved it back then and I love it now. And after a relatively recent change, Targeting Drone now provides a base +20% Damage and for the first attack when out-of-combat, another +60% Damage. But that's just icing on a particular sweet cake. On the flip side, if anyone wants to make a Psychic Blast Blaster, I strongly suggest looking at Martial Combat to see if that works for them. 😺

Welp, let me check. https://cod.uberguy.net/html/power.html?power=blaster_support.energy_manipulation.power_boost&at=blaster It may. "+78.672% ..., Endurance, .... for 15s". There are several key things to know about Toon sapping: Need both -End Powers to take away mobs' Endurance and -Rec Powers to stop them recovering Endurance for a while. Tough mobs cannot be sapped successfully. Even other mobs who are sapped, if they get back what seems to be a sliver of Endurance, they will attack. I run a Kinetics/Electrical Blast Defender. Kinetics Power Transference applies good -End on one target. Electrical Blast Power Short Circuit applies good -End and -Rec to all its targets. But because of Purple Patch (which cuts down effects on higher Level targets) and Endurance and Recovery Debuff Resistance (which reduces those effects on mobs with them), I need both to hit to sap out one target. Maybe. If I can sap a target, I can usually keep that one target at 0 Endurance. But not if it's a special Lt like a Sapper, or most Bosses, EBs, AVs, Monsters, and GMs. Sapping can help. But it's very much a binary tactic: Either works well on weaker targets, but not at all on tough ones. I'd also never depend on sapping to deal with a build on a Toon that doesn't have sufficient net Recovery to keep fighting. Fix that by improving the build. The whole point of a Blapper is using the standard tool to deal with the mobs: Thump them enough to be defeated. Melee Powers have higher damage.

As the stealth expert, I have to point out while Super Speed does provide stealth, it only provides it in PvE. Super Speed itself contributes no PvP stealth. https://cod.uberguy.net/html/power.html?power=pool.speed.super_speed I don't know if the mobs in PvP Zones are affected by this.

I'd not take Martial Combat as a Blaster Secondary except in a particular build. As its Build Up variant is taking the L4 Power Reach for the Limit, which allows all attacks to potentially proc (0.67PPM) a short-term +ToHit (+15% ToHit) +Damage (35%) enhancement buff (15s). That +Damage is doubled (+70%) for Toxic and Psionic Damage. Now Toxic Damage is very rare, outside of other Blaster Secondaries only found in the Blaster Patron Pool Leviathan Mastery and just its attack Bile Spray. And it's rare to have a proc come before just one attack. I'd make a Psychic Blast/Martial Combat Blaster to get a lot more out of Reach for the Limit. But I'd not play that as a Blapper. Storm Blast is a different sort of Blast Powerset. It's somewhat slow to set up and get the most out of. Kind of clashes with the usual rush-rush style of a lot of Teaming in City as it is now (and often was in the past too). Also not that great for the edge-of-the-knife play that is a Blapper. The traditional Blaster Secondaries for a Blapper are Energy Manipulation and Electrical Manipulation. A number of Blaster Secondaries have short-range or melee attacks and a traditional Build Up (+20% ToHit +100% Damage for 10s, base recharge 90s), which can be controlled to precede hard hitting attacks. Those Secondaries are: Atomic Manipulation Earth Manipulation Electricity Manipulation Energy Manipulation Fire Manipulation Ice Manipulation Mental Manipulation Plant Manipulation As @Doomguide2005 mentions, having a lot of PBAoE attacks helps too. The other important features of Blaster Secondaries are the Sustain Power, which adds +Regen and +Recovery, which is sometimes a toggle Power or other times another sort of Power. And many more recent Blaster Secondaries have a special mechanic that can provide a benefit, but can make things a bit more complex. Like Atomic Manipulation and Earth Manipulation. Long ago, I'd made a Sonic Attack/Energy Manipulation Blapper, to have Sonic Attack's -Res to increase the damage of all. It's fun. Blappers live on the edge even more than other Blasters. 😺

What @Rudra, @Psyonico, and @tidge said. And this one is for @battlewraith and @arcane. Keep it weird, dudes! Anyway, once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more! Or close the wall up with our.... Wait, this isn't Harfleur. Wrong context. Anyhoo. Thanks especially to @Rudra, as I didn't know that some maps in AE are flagged to allow GMs. Good to know. Some day, AE, some day. 😺 But there are a few things most Players seem unaware of. Now.... Hmmm? Sigh. Herm.... Ah, yes, thank you, again, @Rudra, let me borrow something. 🚔 🚨 👮‍♀️ 😎 Now, where do I start.... Economics. There are many Schools of Economics. Some of them are, well, let's be generous and say they're touting ideas that are a bit weak at least. But there is much good, even vital, in Economics. Like this principle: People can't do everything. In fact, economics is all about how people decide on what to do and what influences those decisions and what are the consequences of those decisions. There's also this great term from Economics: Opportunity Cost. Actions have a cost. What could that cost have supported if some other action(s) were taken? A way way open-ended question, but at least some other actions can be thought of. Also something else: Anedotes often don't include context. Let me add the context: Just because a GM can do something for a special occasion, doesn't mean it is a good idea to allow it to go into AE. Here's another Principle, of MMOs: If it can be farmed, it will be farmed. This is true for City as much as any other MMO. Some things are awkward to get. Or people want them in volume or quick and easy. (Herm, Badge idea, "Quick & Easy". There's already "Strong & Pretty", why not? 😺 ) Example: The Apex and Tin Plex II Task Forces are locked to +4 Notoriety, else they'd pay out much less Reward Merits. The Devs and a lot of us do really care about some sort of Balance in City. (Where we often disagree is on some of the fiddly details, but such is the nature of working together.) As @Rudra pointed out, you can include GMs into AE on some maps (likely to avoid clipping, as @Psyonico noted, or other reasons, like limiting the payout, as @tidge noted (which aren't that great for GMs because, yes, they were farmed too, still are)). Wonder if that includes Monsters as well. I do need to find some time for AE. Should learn to make my own. There are good arcs there. Like these... @Linea's 801 arcs. Sure. They'll be "Quick & Easy". Trust me. 😺

Exactly. And it's usually even cheaper to buy the L10 Recipe (the lowest Level, the cheapest to craft, and able to slot it as early as possible, there's no need to Market Attune this IO) and the Invention Salvage to craft it yourself.

I love Disco. But dang, I didn't like that one the first time 'round. EDIT: Don't like it as a song to dance to. Kind of like it as an instrumental piece. Get something that has some spirit! That gets the blood pumping! (No, not for you, @Snarky.) Anything by ABBA! Here's what'll get the fire started.

Now that I think of it, Issue 8 seems more right to me too. And looking in the HC forums article I linked above, it says Issue 8 as well. Looks like another HC Wiki bug to report. EDIT: I've searched and I can't find where I got the wrong impression that the Faultline Zone change was in Issue 6. I also vaguely remember Issue 6 well, because that was just about the time I got my own account in Retail City of Heroes. And that wasn't when Faultline changed, it was later. Don't even remember Pre-Issue 8 Faultline except as an Ouroboros Echo, but that's just because of the content I was running at the time.

I'm surprised when I searched that a lot of people are asking if Lemons and Lemon Juice burn. (I assume burn well.) Apparently Cave Johnson had a bigger impact that realised.

I plan to have one Mastermind for each Mastermind Primary some day. So far, Robotics and Thugs, but not very high Level. .... Maybe that wasn't on-topic. Okay, here's a little macro that is great for those times the colour bleeding on the screen is starting to make your eyes look the same. /macro FX "++noparticles" Toggles particles off and on.

Psy, looks like they're circling 'round the long way. I suggest we cut them off at the pass.